Jews Praying In The Synagogue on the Day of Atonement by Maurycy Gottlieb (Tel Aviv Museum of Art)
The Israel Book Review has been edited by Stephen Darori since 1985. It actively promotes English Literacy in Israel .It is sponsored by Foundations including the Darori Foundation and Israeli Government Ministries and has won many accolades from the later .
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Wednesday, May 31, 2017

How to Read Medieval Art (The Metropolitan Museum of Art - How to Read) Paperback – October 25, 2016 by Wendy A. Stein (Metropolitan Museum of Art)

The stated goal of How to Read Medieval Art is to familiarize viewers with how to interpret the narrative stories in medieval artworks. Having worked for fifteen years at the Cloisters, Stein’s writing demonstrates a comfortable familiarity with the art, which are from the collections there and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The writing is expressed in a clear and straightforward approach accessible to the twentieth-century reader.

The book does not delve into artistic style or expression. Rather it places more emphasis on the actual stories illustrated by the objects and how they satisfied the needs of the patrons for whom they were created. Since the Church was the major patron, most of the earlier works reflect biblical stories and theological teachings. Stein successfully communicates the complex theological concepts articulated in the artwork without weighing down the reader in deep religious theory. Key medieval doctrines such as typology and other types of biblical exegesis are explained. The book investigates the relationship of global events as related to the change of artwork patronage and the usage of secular themes for pieces.

The book includes amazing full-color illustrations and very detailed views of the artworks, including enlarged views, which enables the viewer to see finer details. The physical binding of the book is adhesive perfect bound, and it does not seem to be hardy enough to handle intense use.

The book has a bibliography, but is very brief, limited to a single page. Also, there is no glossary and the text recommends going to the Met’s web page for fuller explanations and resources. Some of the term explanations are not provided, expecting the reader to jump back and forth between pages to find definitions. There also is no discussion or representation of Celtic and Islamic art. The artwork represented is almost all Judeo-Christian works with some classical and secular pieces. Despite this, this book is really a wonderful read, quite beautiful, and very good overview of the narrative stories behind medieval artworks.

This book is part of “How to Read Series”; as such it is a valuable resource for explanations to challenging themes. Although the artwork is solely from the Met's collections, the clarifications of medieval themes, religious views, and artistic interpretation are applicable to any collection. It is a helpful starting point for people unfamiliar to Judeo-Christian art and the historical time period. This book would be an appropriate purchase for public libraries and secondary schools, or as a resource for higher education institutions offering introductory art history courses.

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About Me

I am Stephen Darori onLinkedin, Facebook, Twitter,& many other places on the web.My previous surname was Drus ( Dziedrueszyck .in the 17th Century, Drus from 1856 amd Drus from 1907 ) It still is out of Israel. The American Family branch spell their name Drues. The English Family branch Druce. I hebrewaized my surname on 6th September 1986 to Dǻrori( דרורי in Hebrew, دا روري in Arabic). Dǻrori is a "Sparrow" in Biblical Hebrew. The "a' and the acute accent was added in 1987 for Branding Purposes. Ahad Ha'am ( Asher Ginsberg) an early Hebrew Poet wrote , " Cage a Sparrow and it will Die" and from here Eliezer ben Yehuda who revived the Hebrew Language added a metaphorical meaning for "Freedom" and "Liberty" .